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Build a Star Software Development Team

The success of a project depends on a good development team. How to build and maintain such a good team?

As, a software developer for many years, I believed a good dev team is one of the pillars for a successful business. Here, I want to discuss how to build a dream developer team. Building a high productive, super innovative and proactive team is like cooking a meal. It needs a good ingredient, right source, and good timing in each step of cooking.

A good developer has a good academy score in math. Software developing needs the strongest logic thinking and self-validation skill. Building a software project like taking a mathematics test. The higher score in the test means fewer bugs in the code. A person who is capable of getting full scores on math tests is likely to build a project with least bugs. Finding right persons is the first step toward a great team.

A good academy score will not automatically make a good developer. Building software projects are team workings. Developing software is very detail oriented. We may not be able to avoid nitpicking on something. Soft skill is important too. A good developer is willing to learn, easy to collaborate and detail oriented. A good developer will always focus on the matters but never escalate matters to a personal level. A good developer can accept criticism and change for a greater good of the team.

After we have gathered a group of talented developers, it is time to "cook". Every person can be in different states. Software developers can be in the peak productivity state or the bottom of the productivity. An encouraging and rewarding environment with a strong leadership is the key to motivating developers to reach the peak of their productivity. Reward developers with self-fulfillment and let them achieve something with their work. A leading developer with an extraordinary fellowship will help it a lot.

We might ignore the physical environment. Nice, clean, quiet offices help developers focusing on their job. Some start-up companies put a lot of effort to finding talents but did not let them work comfortably. Sometimes, offices are crowded and stuffy. What they can do is just stop looking for a smarter developer and put a little bit more effort to improve the current working condition. In such a company, even the best developer is not able to concentrate on his job. Software developing is a mind activity. The brain requires a lot of blood circulation with plenty of oxygen and energy. The importance of clean, quiet, natural and toxic-free environment will never be overestimated. A healthy environment is a basic requirement for a strong software product.

The next one is an a study oriented and encouraging setting; A company has a respectful culture and a group of open minded developers. It is where developers are very closely collaborating with each other. Developers are not afraid to make a mistake and willing to share their latest trick and newly mastered programming tactics.